Apparatus for manufacturing tubular articles by extrusion



Jan. 26, 1954 SHAW 2,666,947

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING TUBULAR ARTICLES BY EXTRUSION Filed Nov. 8, 1950 WQ A,

Atforn ey Patented Jan. 26, 1 954 APPAnA'ruaFoa MANUFACTURING even, LAR-ARTIGLES nrnxrnusion Harry-Shaw? Whitw'orth, Rochdal; England} as A signorito Bitumen-Limited, Rdchdal'eg-England,

" ApplicationNovemlifer 8, lfiifl serialhlfi.195596;

sive to produce 'owing-to-elowness in manuiacture; The softer thermoplastic materials though not brittle: are irisuflicientl y rigid ior. some-purposes whilst the harder varieties-though: rigid are weak.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for-manufacturing a pipe or other extrudable article byfextruding a composition. composed of a mixture of fillers constituted by loose fibresiand thermoplasticimaterial through a suitably shapedlorificeordie.

The fibrous material gives great strength. and reinforcesthe thermoplastic material, whichiaots as a binder to impart high tensile ariddznpact strength to the extruded product. A composition which has been found especially advantageous is composed of coal tar pitch containing free phenolic bodies in admixture with a taracid-aldehyde resin such as phenol-aldehyde or cresol-aldehyde resin containing an excess of aldehyde with the addition of the fibrous filler material such as cotton linters or asbestos fibres.

The characteristic governing the selection of the filler material is that it must be capable of withstanding the highest temperatures to which the composition is to be raised without being de stroyed or unduly weakened.

The mixing is carried out under as low a temperature as it is possible to use commensurate with getting intimate mixing. During this mixing some of the free phenolic bodies combine with some of the excess aldehyde liberated as the phenol-aldehyde or cresol-aldehyde resin further condenses or reacts with the heat during mixing.

Thi combination of some of the free phenolic bodies and some excess aldehyde causes the melting point of the resultant mass to be raised.

Upon the material being subsequentlyheated for moulding purposes a further combination of (Z 2:? more. excessi aldehydeiwitn free phenolic bodies takes? place; "the" amounts ccmbining depending upon the "temperature to: which the material is heated; and "the: "quantityt'that combinesdetermines the extent*tO-whiththe-softeningpoint is consequently raised.

1 By sprolongedior' repeated heating of *the a material: its softening temperature-can be very considerablyflraised By 'way oi "exampleion'iy'we' gi've the-"following as atypical .composition'aecording to-the invention. "1100.. parts by weightr of" hard gas works I coal tar. pitch are'mixed"'with-20 parts by'weight of crude tar acids, 'andinto this 'is 'mixed 20 parts by weight of -'cresbl-=tcrmaldehyde resin'containing an"excessofformaldehyde; the-mass being intim'atelymixed ata -temperature (if- F. "When h ro hl m x'riwrart by'weigh't o cotton fibre is mixed in and the mass cooled.

Later moulding can take': place at a temperature of 160 F; to"Fibut'this"moulding can later be subjectto.aftemrieratut of "160"*F. to

'1s'0. litiwithout'soitening'toithesamedegree. If theimoulding is subject: to -prolonged "heating at .say'i18Q7 F: it an later be raised to a temperature fof250" F, without appreciably softening.

" Iffthemixing is carriedwut at a temperature be'i-ais d to o t 210 en h article w truded must necessarily be l eated" to about 300 F. to soften it to the sameextenti- Any well known plasticising agent such as for example hexamine tetramine may be added to the composition as necessary. Dyes or pigments may be added to the material to vary its natural colour as desired. v a

We find that moulding compositions manufactured in this manner have a softening point much higher and a much greater tensile strength than the coal tar pitch base and are of particular value for making objects impervious to moisture such as pipes, troughs and the like.

This prepared material is preferably formed into nodules orpellets since it can be satisfactorily stored in that condition.

In the manufacture of pipes or other articles these nodules or pellets arecontinuously fed to a heated chamber so that they are reduced to a plastic mass which is fed continuously from the chamber under pressure to shaped extrusion orifices. It is important that the material be fed at a condition of plasticity such that while it can be forced through the extrusion orifices cooling and in the case of pipes the best method of cooling we have found at present is to pro: vide an external water jacket and an internal central water tube proceeding from the annular extrusion orifice so that the pipe is cooled equally from both its surfaces. By a combination of controlled plasticity and effective cooling a predetermined length of pipe, for. example, can be delivered without undue distortion occurring and.

in the practical application of the invention a cutter will operate adjacent the extrusion nozzle to cut oif the predetermined length of .pipe.

One form of apparatus for extruding a mixture of fiibrous fillers and thermoplastic material ac.- cording to the invention in. the form of a pipe is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing.

The mixture of fibrous filler and thermoplastic material in the form of nodules or pellets is placed in a hopper I from which it is fed along a chamber 2 by means of a rotating screw 3. The chamber 2 is maintained at a temperature sufiicient to soften the materials by means .of oil filled jackets 4 supplied from motor driven pumps (not shown). At the delivery or extrusion end of the chamber 2 the mixture is forced into an annular space of progressively reduced diameter defined by an outer die 5 and an inner die 01' mandrel 6. This mandrel carries an annular ring 7 attached by webs-8 in order that the mandrel can be centralised by means of four screws 9 which extend radially through the outer die 5. The mandrel is formed with an internal axially extending chamber Ill containing oil which is supplied to the mixture through holes II in the webs 8. The outer die 5 is maintained at any desired temperatures along its length by means of oil jackets l2- The mixture, extruded in the form of a pipe is cut off into lengths by means of a pair of semi-annular co-operating knives l3 operated at intervals by levers l4. Means (not shown) may be provided] for supporting the cut lengths of pipe and conveying them to a cooling point.

Although the drawing shows apparatus in which extrusion takes place in a horizontal direction such a pipe can be extruded vertically downwards or at an angle inclined to these directions provided it is supported and solidified sufiiciently rapidly as to avoid distortion. Whilst the apparatus hereinbefore described is particularly suitable for the manufacture of pipes, it will be understood that it is equally applicable to the manufacture of other extrudable articles such as guttering or solid rods.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for manufacturing tubular articles by extrusion comprising a hopper for containing pellets of thermo-plastic composition, a feed screw to which the outlet from said hopper leads, a heated chamber through which said pellets of thermo-plastic composition are carried by said screw, means for heating said chamber to reduce said pellets to a plastic mass, 2. central mandrel protruding from the heating chamber, a heated die shaped to provide an annular passage of gradually decreasing cross-section through which the plastic material is forced to form a pipe and a cutter adjacent the forward end of said die surrounding a protruding end of said mandrel.

2. Apparatus for manufacturing tubular articles by extrusion comprising a pellet containing hopper, a feed screw to which pellets from the hopper pass, a heating jacket surrounding the feed screw, an annular extrusion passage of gradually decreasing cross section, a heated jacket surrounding said passage, a central heated mandrel co-operating with the heating jacket and protruding therefrom to form the annular extrusion passage and a cutter adjacent the end of the die passage embracing the protruding end of said mandrel.

HARRY SHAW.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,944,464 Richardson Jan. 23, 1934 1,956,866 Keller May 1, 1934 2,168,288 Fischer Aug. 1, 1 39 2,317,687 Larchar Apr. 27, 1943 2,501,995 Dillehay Mar 28, 1950 

